


Dancing With Myself

by MyJediLife



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben is a Grumpy Dark Lord, Did I say angst?, F/M, I did say angst!, Mutual Pining, Ok not really - just a grumpy Lawyer, Protective Ben Solo, Rey is a Mom, Rey is a Single Mom, Rey likes to dance while she works, Slow Burn, So much angst, There will be rain, and food, copious amounts of angst, rey is a custodian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 05:01:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21265493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/pseuds/MyJediLife
Summary: Rey Sands is a single Mom, working as a Custodian in the high rise office building owned by the First Order Corporation.Ben Solo is a corporate lawyer, a workaholic perfectionist with no time for a relationship - until he seesherdancing behind her cleaning cart one night.Maybe he's found someone who is as lonely as he is.





	Dancing With Myself

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Semperfidani](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Semperfidani/gifts).

> Continuing on with my season of gifting, this is for my fabulous friend: [Semperfidani](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Semperfidani)!
> 
> Dani, you are an amazing friend, an amazing writer, and the only Lefty I ever want! xoxoxo I hope you enjoy your gift! <3
> 
> Thanks to my beta and moodboard guru: [Azuwrite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azuwrite)! I always say this, but I mean it - I couldn't do it without you.

[](https://imgur.com/ZfYyIT3)

Rey hoped that dancing while working wasn't addressed in her employee contract. She had developed a routine since being hired on the janitorial team, tasked with cleaning the Supremacy building, which housed the many business ventures owned by the First Order conglomerate. She had started at the bottom of the janitorial ladder, so to speak, with cleaning the break rooms and lavatories, and now she was responsible for the thirtieth and thirty-first floors, which housed the law firm of Solo, Dameron and Hux.

On a normal night, the building was clear when she came to work at 8 pm. She would drop her daughter off at Rose and Finn’s after dinner, and would work the night away cleaning up other people’s messes.

Most of the time it wasn’t too bad - because attorneys tended to be organized and neat. Rey enjoyed cleaning their offices, and she always giggled when she went into Mr. Hux’s office. He apparently had a relationship with two women - one a tall, icy-eyed blonde who looked like she could break her red-haired boyfriend like a twig in a fight, and the other a fat orange and white tabby cat, staring out of the silver picture frame with bored yellow eyes, the name  _ Millicent _ and the year  _ 2017 _ engraved on the frame.

She had actually met Mr. Dameron one night, when he was burning the midnight oil on a case. He was handsome, with dark hair and eyes, and he had flirted shamelessly with her before leaving for the night. It was a good thing Rey knew how to resist a man’s charms, because as Mr. Dameron - Poe, he had insisted on her calling him - had bitten his bottom lip while looking her up and down, she had known most women fell for his charms.

She was a single mom, worked as a janitor, and lived in a tiny one bedroom studio, where she slept on a futon so her seven year old daughter, Natalie, could have her own room. Men would rather turn away than invest time in dating her - especially knowing she had baggage.

That was fine, though. She was happy being single. It was just her and Natalie, and her small circle of friends. Life was good.

That thought process worked for her most days - but sometimes, during the day when she was trying desperately to sleep while Nat was at school - she liked to imagine a different life for herself. She was finished with school and was working as an engineer, and her and her handsome, kind husband lived in the suburbs with Natalie and a dog, in a house with a fence and neighbors they had picnics with every summer.

Sighing, Rey popped in her earbuds and turned on her playlist, the upbeat opening tones of Outkast’s  _ Hey Ya _ getting her in the cleaning mood as she pushed her cart down the empty hallway. She had the same routine on both floors, cleaning the lavatories first before moving onto the break rooms, and finishing with the founding partner’s offices.

Some nights, she would prop her tablet on her cart, reading her college textbooks as she moved between rooms, but most nights she would dance, singing into her mop handle as she mopped the floors and saving her reading for her breaks and lunch. 

….

This case was going to rule his life for the foreseeable future, Ben could tell as he massaged the back of his neck with a large hand, hanging his head and closing his eyes to rest them for a few minutes. He may even end up sleeping in his office - and he thanked his interior decorator for suggesting the addition of a couch that could fold out into a small bed. He always kept extra toiletries and suits in the adjacent bathroom, as well as bedding and anything he might need if he was stuck at the office working.

He was a man who liked to be prepared for any inevitability. 

Somehow, though, he wasn’t prepared for the sight of a woman  _ dancing _ down the hallway, singing loudly - and offkey - into a broomhandle as she used her keycard to enter one of the junior associates’ offices across the hall.

Intrigued, he watched through the glass window of his office as she went about her duties, cleaning and dusting with vigor and enthusiasm he rarely saw in anyone who worked as a janitor. He continued to watch her, almost in a trance as he took in her thin, yet shapely frame and skin that looked like it had been kissed by sunlight. She had soft brunette hair, styled in three seperate buns at the back of her head, and Ben longed, for some reason, to see her face more closely.

He was intrigued - and few things in his life intrigued him.

Ben had been a workaholic his whole life, starting with his first job mowing lawns at the age of ten. He had already known he wanted to go to college someday, and while his parents had more than enough money, he liked knowing he  _ earned _ his own money and didn’t have to depend on them.

Besides - they were workaholics, as well, and barely had time for their own son. His father was a pilot, and was only home between scheduled flights. His mother was a Senator, and was in Washington for most of the year, leaving him to be raised by a nanny.

Now he had everything he had worked so hard for - a career, a law firm, a penthouse suite, and more money than he could ever possibly use. Yet, if Ben stopped to think about it - he was lonely. He had never wanted a relationship, it would hardly be fair to whatever woman happened to catch his eye at the time, after all. She would sit at home without him - because he was married to his work.

As the woman left the office, she looked up to see him watching her, and she smiled, waving her hand at him before continuing down the hall to the next office. Ben couldn’t take his eyes off her, even after she entered the next office. Finally, after a few more moments of rumination, he looked back down at his desk, focusing on the papers in front of him.

The next night, Ben found himself working late once more, the deadline of the case growing even closer, and if he didn’t have the depositions done by the next morning, everything would fall through for his client - and there was no way that was happening. He had never lost a case - or a client - and Ben intended on keeping it that way.

A voice rang out in the hall, someone singing offkey to a song he actually recognized - a Bonnie Raitt tune that Hux’s wife insisted on singing on karaoke nights every time they managed to drag him out somewhere.

Ben let a smile drift onto his face as the singer came into view - the custodian from the night before. She smiled and waved at him as she let herself into the office across from his, and Ben threw up a hand at her as well.

Rey had often wondered what the elusive Benjamin Solo - Attorney At Law - was like. No one was allowed inside his office to clean it, and so he was the only person on this floor that she didn’t have a clue about.

However, last night it would appear she had been caught by him, red-handed, dancing down the hall with her cleaning cart in front of her as she worked. She had been half-afraid he would have her fired for being unprofessional - but when her boss didn’t call her and tell her she was fired, Rey had breathed a sigh of relief and went about her routine.

Mr. Solo was - well, he was handsome - but not in the typical way, she thought as he gave her a smile and a wave of his hand while she let herself into the office across from his to clean that night. A lot of men that most women considered good-looking were far too pretty in Rey’s eyes, with perfect hair and teeth, and a body to match.

Rey had never liked pretty boys, though. Her ex had been one - and left her when Natalie was eight months old because having a baby and a wife had been too much for him.

Mr. Solo was handsome in a perfectly imperfect way, Rey thought as she dusted and vacuumed. His nose was a bit long, and his face was dotted with moles - but the thing that struck Rey the most were his eyes. She hadn’t seen more than a glimpse of them - but they were stunning, the color of rich dark chocolate mixed with bourbon. She could tell from his quick glances that he was intense, and his lips - Rey had almost forgotten what she thought might be her favorite feature on his face.

The man had lips that were made for sinning.

Turning her thoughts back to work, Rey finished what she was doing, singing along to the music as she backed out of the office, connecting with something hard. Losing her balance, Rey started to fall before she felt a large hand on her arm, steadying her, and as her earbuds fell out of her ears, she looked up to see Benjamin Solo - Attorney At Law - and perfectly imperfect, beyond sex god handsome, with lips made for sinning, smiling down at her.

“You should definitely watch your step. Have a good night,” his voice was a rich rumble as he spoke, and Rey could only watch as he walked down the hall towards the elevators, letting his scent drift over her as her heart raced in her chest.

The next night when she came to work, there was an addition to her work list - a new office to clean. Written by it in her supervisors rough script, it said,  _ Mr. Solo personally requested that only  _ ** _you_ ** _ can clean his office. Please make sure to do an outstanding job! _

Rey scoffed at the last line - she always did outstanding work. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to vacuum a floor or dust, after all.

Settling into her routine, Rey set to work, wondering if Mr. Solo would be working late again. It was always a shock to see one of the attorneys there late - but Rey wouldn’t mind seeing the raven-haired, intriguing lawyer again.

Sadly, when she reached Mr. Solo’s office, it was dark and empty. Rey found a note taped to the door as she entered, a beautiful, flowing script across the envelope stating it was for the  _ Dancing Custodian _ . Face flushed with embarrassment, Rey tore open the envelope, reading the letter and grinning.

_ Please don’t touch anything in the closet or the rest area. _

_ Also, please don’t use those horrendous scented trash bags. The last cleaning person used ones that smelled like vanilla and I wanted to vomit and eat a dozen cookies all at once. They smelled like shit. _

_ Out of curiosity, what song caused you to have an impromptu dance party in the hallway with your cleaning cart? I certainly think a woman as lovely looking as you could find a better dance partner. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Mr. Solo _

Rey set to work, trying to get a feel for what kind of man Benjamin Solo might be. He had no photos on his desk - nothing to give her any inkling that he had a family - or even friends, for that matter.

His office was well-decorated - but intimidating. It screamed  _ high class attorney _ and as Rey polished, dusted and vacuumed, she pondered over her first impressions of him.

_ Handsome. Intense. Intelligent. Powerful. Good sense of humor. In control. Used to getting his way. _

_ So, the kind of man I should probably stay away from - but really don’t want to. _

Rey put the finishing touches on his office before grabbing a piece of paper from her cart and penning out a reply.

_ Hello, Mr. Solo! _

_ I have to agree with you about the scented trash bags. I’d rather smell furniture polish all day than something that makes me want to gorge myself on sweets. _

_ As far as the music - it was “Hey Ya!” by Outkast. It’s good music to clean by. _

_ I hope your evening was enjoyable. _

_ Rey - the Dancing Custodian _

She propped the note up on the computer monitor before heading out to finish the rest of her work for the night - even though she couldn’t get Mr. Solo out of her head.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave comments and kudos, and mash that subscribe button if you like what you see! <3
> 
> Come visit me on tumblr: [my-jedi-life](https://my-jedi-life.tumblr.com/)
> 
> And on the twitter: [MyJediLife](https://twitter.com/MyJediLife) (All the twitters - I know them!)


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